It is well known in the prior art for chairs, particularly "easy chairs" intended for residential use, to be adapted for reclining. The reclining of the chair is typically achieved by adapting the backrest to tilt rearward in conjunction with the forward and upward motion of the seat. Reclining chairs having the backrest and seat in a fixed relationship present several disadvantages. The rearward tilting of the backrest gives the chair occupant an unnatural "falling" sensation when coupled with the forward and upward movement of the seat. In addition, chairs having a back and seat which move relative to each other present disadvantages where the reclining motion causes movement of the backrest with relation to the occupant's back. The resulting friction tends to pull the occupant's upper garment and may irritate the skin of occupants with sensitive skin. This relative movement between the backrest and the occupant's back can occur if the relative movement of the contact surfaces of the chair and occupant do not approximately correspond to movement of the occupant's back with respect to the occupant's thighs. Finally, the chair occupant, to initiate the reclining motion, must exert a large force with either his or her legs or arms. This large force is necessary to overcome the occupant's body weight pressing down on the seat.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,041 to Landry, et al (issued May 30, 1978) discloses a rocker recliner chair wherein reclining adjustments are made by moving the center of gravity of the chair occupant horizontally to minimize the effort for reclining or returning to the upright position. In Landry, the seat is hinged to the backrest and supported at a forward portion to a side suspension. The backrest is pivotably mounted to the suspension at a midpoint of the length thereof through an adjustable pivot. There is no disclosure in Landry of pivoting the seat rest with respect to the back to avoid shearing action between the occupant and the backrest.
The U.S. Pat. No. 2,859,801 to Moore, (issued Nov. 11, 1958), discloses a five bar linkage to control the reclining of a chair seat and back rest so as to eliminate friction between the chair back and the occupant's back when reclining. The axis of rotation of the backrest with respect to the seat corresponds with a pelvic axis, cross sectionally in line with the occupant's pelvis. The Moore five-bar linkage system comprises a backrest bracket, a seat bracket, a base bracket, and two connecting linkages. The bottom two linkages inter-connect the base bracket, the seat bracket and the backrest bracket. The Moore linkage system does not appear to translate the center of gravity of the occupant horizontally (without any substantial vertical component) so as to minimize the effort of the occupant in the reclining and return positions.
Many reclining chairs are provided with footrests adapted to move forward and upward as the chair is reclined. This movement of the footrest may be handle-actuated as in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,494 to Dabney (issued July 15, 1980) or may be controlled by reclining linkages as in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,393,007 to Fletcher (issued July 16, 1968); the U.S. Pat. No. RE 25,375 to Lorenz (issued Apr. 30, 1963); the U.S. Pat. No. 2,871,917 to Schliephacke (issued Feb. 3, 1959); the U.S. Pat. No. 2,892,485 to Schliephacke (issued June 30, 1959); and the U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,495 to Gall (issued July 15, 1980). In each of these chairs, however, the footrest remains at a fixed position in relation to the bracket to which the footrest is mounted. Thus, the footrest may be at an inconvenient location for chair occupants having short or long legs.
The use of a moveable headrest in conjunction with a chair is known. The U.S. Pat. No. 3,856,346 to Herman (issued Dec. 24, 1974) discloses a headrest controlled by a linkage system to move the headrest relative to the chair as the chair is reclined. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,062 to Rogers, Jr., et al (issued Feb. 12, 1980) discloses a similar headrest which "pops up" from a concealed position behind the seat back and is actuated by a linkage connected to the same handle that actuates movement of the footrest. The U.S. Pat. No. 3,492,045 to Schefthaler (issued Jan. 27, 1970) discloses a headrest mounted on an arm in such a way that it can be swung into the inside space of the backrest when not in use. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,841 to Kiang (issued Mar. 14, 1978) discloses a pillow member moveably secured to the backrest with a counter-weight on the opposite side of the seat and slidably contained within a sheath to permit the pillow to be moved to a desired position where it will remain. The U.S. Pat. No. 3,095,235 to Babcock, et al (issued June 25, 1963) discloses an hydraulically-operated bed chair having a headrest, the angular position of which relative to the backrest may be varied by means of a ratchet bar assembly.